GSK announces Proposed Unregistered Offering of Senior Notes Exchangeable into Theravance Biopharma Ordinary Shares

On June 17, 2020 GlaxoSmithKline plc ("GSK"), acting through its subsidiary GSK Finance (No.3) plc ("the issuer") reported its intention to offer senior notes due 2023 ("the notes") exchangeable into ordinary shares of Theravance Biopharma, Inc. ("Theravance Biopharma") currently held by GSK and its affiliates (Press release, GlaxoSmithKline, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561166]). The notes will be guaranteed by GSK and will be exchangeable at the option of noteholders during specified periods. The notes will not bear a coupon.

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The notes will be exchangeable into substantially all of the 9,644,807 ordinary shares of Theravance Biopharma currently held by GSK and its affiliates. Upon exchange of the notes, the issuer expects to deliver ordinary shares of Theravance Biopharma but may, at its option under certain circumstances, deliver cash or a combination of Theravance Biopharma shares and cash. The exchange premium will be set at pricing. In connection with the offering, Theravance Biopharma will agree to file a shelf registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") to register resales of its ordinary shares deliverable upon exchange of the notes.

GSK expects to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes. Theravance Biopharma will not receive any proceeds from the offering.

The offering of the notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The notes will be offered by means of an offering memorandum solely to persons reasonably believed to be "qualified institutional buyers" (as that term is defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act) that are also "qualified purchasers" (within the meaning of Section 2(a)(51) of the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended). This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes nor shall there be any sale of notes in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state.

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom (the "UK") or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The notes are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such notes will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

PROHIBITION OF SALES TO EEA AND UK RETAIL INVESTORS

The notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area ("EEA") or in the UK. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended, the "Insurance Distribution Directive"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II. Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA or in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA or in the UK may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation.

Agenus to Present at the Raymond James Virtual Human Health Innovation Conference

On June 17, 2020 Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies, adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines, reported that Dr. Jennifer Buell, PhD, President and Chief Operating Officer of Agenus, will present an update on Agenus’ progress and host one-on-one meetings with investors at the Raymond James Virtual Human Health Innovation Conference on June 18, 2020 (Press release, Agenus, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561182]).

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Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

Time: 4:20 pm – 4:450 p.m. ET / Virtual Track 1

Webcast: The presentation will be webcast and can be accessed through the following link: View Source

RemeGen Co., Ltd. Announced New RC48-ADC Data in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer at ASCO

On June 17, 2020 RemeGen, Co., Ltd. reported positive results from its Phase II study of RC48 (disitamab vedotin) for the treatment of HER2-expressing advanced or metastatic gastric cancer in heavily treated patients at the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)20 Virtual Scientific Program organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper), which was held on May 29-31, 2020 (Press release, RemeGen, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561198]). RC48 (disitamab vedotin) is a novel humanized anti-HER2 antibody drug conjugate (ADC) developed to treat several cancer diseases.

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"For the third year in a row, we are pleased to showcase clinical progress of RC48 in a broad range of solid tumor treatments at ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper)," said Jianmin Fang, Ph.D., founder and CEO of RemeGen Co., Ltd., "We are encouraged to see positive data from the latest research, and we believe that RC48 has the potential to redefine treatment for patients with HER2-expressing advanced or metastatic gastric cancer."

The single-arm Phase II multicenter clinical study conducted in China was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RC48. The study enrolled 127 patients (IHC2+ including FISH+ and FISH-, and IHC3+) with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer including gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. The key endpoint of the study was the objective response rate (ORR) of the main efficacy index evaluated by the independent efficacy evaluation committee (IRC). The confirmed ORR was 23.6%, with a median progression free survival period (mPFS) of 4.1 months. The median overall survival time (mOS) was 7.5 months.

All patients evaluated in the study had received 2 or more lines of chemotherapy treatments with a subgroup of patients having received an additional line of systemic therapy treatment such as Herceptin. The study also included patients with low expressing HER2 (IHC2+ / FISH-) tumor, potentially widening the population of patients who may benefit from this therapy. The results of the study demonstrate RC48’s potential in addressing the urgent unmet medical need for this heavily treated patient population.

More information around these findings are found in the virtual scientific program of the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (Abstract #4560).

About RC48
RC48 was developed to treat HER2 expressing solid tumors. It has a novel antibody with a higher affinity to HER2 compared to standard of care, and superior anti-tumor activity compared to other treatments in animal models. RC48 was the first ADC drug approved for human clinical trials in China and favorable safety profile has been observed in clinical trials. It is currently being studied in multiple late-stage clinical trials across solid tumor types.

Merck Prices $4.5 Billion Debt Offering

On June 17, 2020 Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, reported priced a $4.5 billion public offering of four series of senior unsecured notes (collectively, the "Notes") (Press release, Merck & Co, JUN 17, 2020, View Source [SID1234561167]). The Notes include:

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$1.0 billion of 0.750% notes due 2026
$1.25 billion of 1.450% notes due 2030
$1.0 billion of 2.350% notes due 2040
$1.25 billion of 2.450% notes due 2050

Merck intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including without limitation the repayment of outstanding commercial paper borrowings and other indebtedness with upcoming maturities. The offering is expected to close on June 24, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. BNP Paribas Securities Corp., BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are acting as the active joint book-running managers for the offering.

The offering of the Notes is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement (including a base prospectus) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained by calling BNP Paribas Securities Corp. toll-free at 1-800-854-5674, BofA Securities, Inc. collect at 1-800-294-1322, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. toll-free at 1-800-831-9146 or Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. toll-free at 1-800-503-4611. An electronic copy of the registration statement and prospectus supplement, together with the base prospectus, is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Agenus and AgenTus to Participate in a Panel Presentation on Cell Therapy at the Raymond James Virtual Human Health Innovation Conference

On June 17, 2020 Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), an immuno-oncology (I-O) company with a pipeline of immune checkpoint antibodies, adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines, reported that Dr. Walter Flamenbaum, CEO of AgenTus Therapeutics, and Dr. Marc Van Dijk, Chief Technology Officer of Agenus and AgenTus Therapeutics, will participate in a panel discussion on Cell Therapy at the Raymond James Virtual Human Health Innovation Conference on June 17, 2020.

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Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Time: 12:00 PM – 12:50 PM ET

Title: Cell Therapy: Promise of the Next Generation – Cell Therapy has become a fast-changing field after becoming a powerful clinical therapy for late line cancer patients with the approval of the first generation CD19+ CAR T cell treatments (Yescarta and Kymriah). Participants in the panel include AgenTus Therapeutics, a biotech company and subsidiary of Agenus Inc. developing new cancer treatments, including AGENT-797, an early unmodified allogeneic iNKTcell therapy, Magenta Therapeutics, a cell therapy company developing novel cell therapies including MGTA-456, a stem -cell production therapy, and SQZ Biotechnologies Company, a biotech company developing oncology drugs including APC HPV, an autologous based therapy for several types of cancer.